A clatter of broken stumps at The Oval yesterday brought a messy conclusion to Ireland's worthy World Twenty20 efforts.

After the tension of Sunday's gripping encounter with Sri Lanka, reality revisited Ireland's campaign as a ruthless Pakistan picked off targets to seal a 39-run win and passage into the semi-finals.

The bowlers had put in another tremendous shift to restrict their final Super Eight foes to 159 for five on a pitch made in cricket heaven, but the Irish reply began to unravel as soon as Niall O'Brien departed in the third over.

For all the arsenal at Pakistan's disposal, Ireland shouldn't have signed off as tamely as they did, crumpling from 87-2 to 120-9 as bats were flung at fresh air.

Captain William Porterfield again fulfilled his duties as the anchor, stroking 40 off 36 balls as he and 18-year-old Paul Stirling, making his big-tournament debut, progressed at six-an-over.

Stirling drove his first ball for an eye-catching four but, like many team elders, struggled to conjure up the improvisation that wins Twenty20 games. Pakistan clinically exposed their flaws with craft and pace.

There was still a sniff of a contest at the 13-over mark but Kevin O'Brien and John Mooney froze as Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul sent through dot after dot, and the asking rate soared into the high teens.

As O'Brien jnr perished, confounded by Ajmal's off-spin, Pakistan might as well have been shying at coconuts as they nailed wicket after wicket, to the relief of a nation demanding atonement for a certain World Cup result in 2007.

By the final over, Boyd Rankin and Kyle McCallan were left shadow boxing with an opponent who had left the ring.

Another adventure behind them, Ireland head their separate ways this morning having lost three games out of five by convincing margins.

But their very presence in the Super Eights was a triumph and their performance against Sri Lanka at Lord's a concrete endorsement for inclusion in the ICC's regular touring programme.

In Twenty20 terms, Porterfield believes his unit is halfway to fulfilling its potential.

'We have shown, and reinforced to ourselves, that we can compete with the ball and in the field to keep sides to respectable totals,' he said.

'With the bat, we have learnt a lot of things from watching other teams and we've got to make a step up in class by the time of the next T20 qualifiers in October and, hopefully, the tournament itself next year.'

For all the blood-letting that would come, plenty of encouragement could be scooped off the Oval turf between innings.

Particularly pleasing for Porterfield was a career-defining bowling spell by his fellow north-westerner, Boyd Rankin.

Few could have expected Rankin to play the role of cost-cutter, keeping Pakistan's dashing batsmen in check. But this was a day when pace was an asset rather than a liability.

Reaching speeds of 86mph, the Warwickshire giant bowled short and straight and caused discomfort for Kamran Akmal, once of Limavady, throughout his anchor innings of 54.

Equally unexpected was the sight of Trent Johnston being battered from pillar to post. While Rankin's four-over return equalled the best of the tournament, Johnston's was the worst ever by an Irishman in this format.

Metronomic at Lord's 24 hours before, the ex-captain lost control of his out-swing and his second over cost 20 runs as each opener helped himself to a big six.

His replacement by Alex Cusack immediately paid off as the Clontarf man took his eighth wicket in eight days – a haul that would be matched by Kyle McCallan by the time the day was out.

Pakistan, however, continued to motor along even after McCallan deceived Shahid Afridi with a slower ball that he chipped to John Mooney.

Regan West absorbed some punishment but persisted with his flight, and it paid off when Younus Khan got himself in a tangle.

Ireland's purple patch did not end with the obligatory five-over death smash. A McCallan full toss disappeared high into the stands but he got his revenge when Misbah-ul-Haq sliced a sweep and Niall O'Brien took a tumbling catch.

By then Johnston had redeemed himself with an over that cost four runs and ended the Akmal vigil, and Rankin delivered an exemplary 19th before Abdur Razzaq made hay off Cusack.

Thirty runs off the last four overs, and Pakistan became the latest luminaries to doff their caps to a new and worthy force on the Twenty20 scene.